Senior Social Worker- Suicide Prevention

**Duties**:

- The Suicide Prevention Coordinator (SPC) facilitates the implementation of suicide prevention strategies at a local level through education, monitoring, and coordination activities.
- The SPC functions as a coordinator for care of Veterans at suicide risk and an advisor to Behavioral Health and Medical staff leadership, the Mental Health Executive Council, facility leadership, program managers, and staff concerning suicide prevention strategies for individual patients, for the facility and Veteran community as a whole.
- The SPC is responsible for tracking and reporting all suicide attempts and completions at their facility, including the submission of a monthly report to the National Suicide Prevention Coordinator.
- The SPC is responsible for following up on consults (within 24 business hours) received from the VA Suicide Hotline to assure timely access to care and follow-up for patients in crisis.
- The SPC is responsible for continued contact and monitoring with Veterans that have been identified as high-risk for suicide to assure continued care and treatment.
- The SPC ensures that patients identified as being at high risk for suicide receive follow-up for any missed mental health and substance abuse appointments in conjunction with the clinical treatment team, and that this follow-up is documented in the electronic medical record.
- The SPC is responsible for maintaining a facility "high-risk" list, per their consultation with clinicians.
- The SPC exclusively controls the Category II Patient Record Flag as it relates to suicide and limits its use to patients who meet the criteria of being placed on the facility high risk list.
- The SPC maintains the list of patients who have a Category II Patient Record Flag for suicide and reviews the list at least every 90 days.
- The SPC will monitor and ensure personal contact with Veterans who have been identified as surviving an attempt or who are identified as being high risk.
- The SPC will assist in establishing US mail contact with him/her in order to provide an "enhanced care" model of prevention which maintains communication with the Veteran.

**Work Schedule**: Monday
- Friday 8:00 AM -4:30 PM

**Virtual**: This is a virtual position.

**Functional Statement #**:436-55882-O

**Relocation/Recruitment Incentives**:
**Fi**nancial Disclosure Report**: Not required

**Requirements**:
**Conditions of Employment**:

- Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
- Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
- You may be required to serve a probationary period.
- Subject to background/security investigation.
- Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
- Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
- Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
- Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

**Qualifications**:

- Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.
- **Basic Requirements**:

- **United States Citizenship**: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).
- **Grade Determinations**:Senior Social Worker, GS-12**
- **Licensure/Certification**. Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California, which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they must be able to provide supervision for licensure.
a) Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management.
- (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
- c) Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes.
- (d) Ability to provide specialized consultatio